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Published in: Journal of Community Health 6/2016

01-12-2016 | Original Paper

Nutritional Intervention to Improve the Quality of Lunchboxes Among Mexican School Children

Authors: Glenda Díaz-Ramírez, Arturo Jiménez-Cruz, Montserrat Bacardí-Gascón

Published in: Journal of Community Health | Issue 6/2016

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Abstract

In Mexico, the type of foods included in the lunchboxes of school children are unhealthy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an intervention program to improve the quality of the foods in the lunchboxes. Two schools were randomly selected as the intervention group (IG) and two more as the control group (CG). The evaluation was performed by comparing a food list from 3 days before and 6 months after the intervention. The components of the intervention included: exposure to posters inside and outside the classrooms and the distribution of pamphlets to parents, the pamphlets provided recipes and information about healthy foods. A lunchbox was considered adequate (AL) if it had less than 276 cal, fruits or vegetables, and an item prepared at home; a healthy lunchbox (HL) consisted of fruits or vegetables, water, and it did not have unhealthy foods. At the beginning of the study there were no significant differences in the compliance of AL and HL in both groups. By the end of the study, 19 % of the children in the IG and 10 % of the children in the CG met the criteria of a HL (p = 0.002). The results of this study demonstrate that a simple, 6 month intervention targeting parents improved the quality of the foods in the lunchboxes of second and sixth graders.
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Metadata
Title
Nutritional Intervention to Improve the Quality of Lunchboxes Among Mexican School Children
Authors
Glenda Díaz-Ramírez
Arturo Jiménez-Cruz
Montserrat Bacardí-Gascón
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Community Health / Issue 6/2016
Print ISSN: 0094-5145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3610
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0207-5

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